The Girl On Fire
by Hungergamesgirl1220
Summary: Katniss returns home from the 74th Hunger games to find that she loves Peeta .
1. Nightmares

You never know what it is that you have gotten yourself into until you are in far to deep for your liking and like a fool I bought into Snow's wicked games by volunteering for death that I would later find out is to no avail .

I am glad I did volunteer though for the Prims' sake because if I hadn't I would deep down inside hate myself to no end for just standing their like an idiot when I know I could do something to help her , but even that was a ploy that was spit back in my face that I realized yesterday on me and Peeta's first night coming home from the Capitol .

Cato has Peeta in a headlock before I can blink but something is very wrong by the way Cato is smiling at me like the devil , it was then that I noticed Peeta was out of my sight and I started panicking even more when blood appears all over the cornucopia . I check to see if I have been hit somewhere and was to num to feel it in this brutal cold weather , but I don't even have a scratch on me so where did this blood come from ?

PEETA ! I can now see him clearly along with the shiny pool of blood starting to pool up near his neck. He can't be dead ! But I know he is by the way he is as still as a rock and I can tell that Cato killed him , now it's just me and him .

Suddenly Cato has a hold on my neck so tight that not even the chilling wind can bring peace to and I know that it's over , I'm done with life , but in a last ditch effort I scream at the top of my lungs over and over until Cato starts yelling

"Katniss wake up ... Katniss please get up ... NOW !"

To say i fall out of bed is an understatement , I tumbled out of bed only to look up to meet the prettiest blue eyes of my once dead district partner Peeta Mellark . Instantly I leap up from my previous location of the floor to stand on my feet so that I can check for any signs of injuries around his neck . Without thinking of how weird my actions are I have my hands all over his neck and head where the pool of blood was collecting .

I can tell once I've calmed down that Peeta looks shocked and worried , but who could blame him when Katniss Everdeen the toughest girl in district 12 showed some affection for her fellow partner ? What am I supposed to tell him , I don't want him to think I've lost my mind ? Ooh I know !

" Look I-I'm really sorry about that , it's just that I had to know that you were alright , that you weren't really dead ." their I said it .

He looks at me with a loss of words for a few seconds before he regained his senses and said " Why would I be dead ?"

" B-Because I saw you die in my nightmare and all I could do was just stand there and watch Cato kill you just like he would have done to me after you woke me up ."

" So I'm not the only one with those , how should I put this ... Hellish slumbers ."

" There is no way my brain would let me get away without having that much fun and I know that it's only going to get worse over time , so much that I don't know if I will be able to handle it , I should have just died in the arena " As soon as those words leave my mouth I regret it .

" Katniss if you would have died in the arena I would have died with you just like I know you would have for me , but I'm grateful that I was able to go into the games with you even if it was only to have one conversation and now look at us we are a mess together know we can fix if we help each other push away from the darkness Snow has filled life's with ."

" Okay sounds good with me "

" so I'll be in my room if you need me , goodnight "

"Wait !" I grab onto his warm hand that feels so good on my ghostly cold skin. " Stay with me , please ? " I say it so weakly from the strength I'm used to having in my voice .

" Always "

He climbs into the bed and pulls me into his warm comforting embrace that makes me feel a sense of safety I haven't felt scince being in the cave minus the fever and worry of how we are going to die . We fall asleep right after that and sleep a peaceful night knowing that we can lean on each other for comfort .

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Happy new year ! 2013 already ?!

Please review and tell me your ideas on where this story should go

Thanks -

Jillian , XOXO


	2. Chapter 2

So sorry it took forever to update but I am human and a busy one at that but enough said here is chapter two !

When I wake up to find Peeta's arms wrapped around my waist and smile that even in his sleep he is very protective of me . I roll over to get a better look at Peeta in his sleep , he almost looks like he is the most peaceful person on the planet being here with me even after all of the damage I have caused to him and having to survive the hunger games .

While I was memorizing every inch of peeta's face I realized how attractive he really is without even trying and I feel lucky to have him with me even if it is only for a short period of time , which I pray it won't.

To soon peeta wakes up to find me looking at him but he mustn't think anything of it because he smiles softly to himself before stretching with a yawn .

"Good morning ,Katniss"

"Morning ,Peeta"

" How did you sleep last night"

"Great,it has to be the best rest I've gotten scince we came home last week"

"That's good I know that I feel better rested than I have in weeks and it's all thanks to you"

I don't even have time to reply back to peeta because outside our window peeta's mom is screetching at the top of her lungs for peeta to get out of my house this instint or else she would be coming up here herself to find out what we were doing.

Me and Peeta look at each other mortified and for me blushing at what his mother was implying that she would find us doing up here . Peeta's cheeks burn with shame as he softly speaks the last words before he leaves with his angry mother.

"Sorry , I will come by later tonight or you can come over to my house , either way we can make it work ."

And with that he slips on his shoes and gives me a soft kiss before he is on his way out of the door and onto the sidewalk in front of the house. I watch from my window as he leaves and wonder what it would be like if we didn't have to put up with the grinch , which truly was the most appropriate nickname I could think of to call Peeta's mother when honestly I don't care what her name is because I have no respect towards her from how she treats Peeta. Peeta,sweet innocent Peeta, my boy with the bread , the dandelion in the spring that gives me hope that even on the worst days their can be people to help you at your most desperate moments,but most of all my hero and protector, the person that brings out the life that was held deep inside.

Peeta and Prim are without a doubt in my mind two of the most important people in my life. I can't lose either of them and if I did I would go down with them. Even though Peeta dose not know it I love him , I mean I love gale also but he is like a big brother to me and he always will be as long as he is around me.

I spend the rest of the day sorting out my feelings for Peeta and I return to theashamed thing every time , I love him and need him in my life more than any other 's the only person who knows what I went through in the arena other than than the other tributes but they are dead and gone now so it is not like they would have been of any help anyways .

The sun is setting as I finish sorting and I decide by taking one look in the mirror and one sniff of my flashy Capitol created skin that i really need a shower , I'm embarrassed Peeta was even near me when I look like a hot mess and smell like I have been at the bar all night long.I undo the braid that I had some what slopped together and slipped into the dancing rainwaters that can only feel like the desserts.

Once I'm done with my much needed shower and getting dressed in warm pj's I sat down at the stool provided by you guessed it the Capitol and began to put on face moisturizer, a very good smelling lotion I found in another cabinet I had not known about or crossed before now, and lastly I brushed out my hair and decided to just leave it down and see what Peeta thinks about my mother and my sister are asleep and most likely assume I'm asleep,because Peeta did not show up at my house I quietly slip out of my new house and cross the lawn seperating me and Peeta's lawn.

Slowly I creep around Peeta's house to look for any sign or movement of Peeta's mother but i see no sign of her here and I'm pretty sure she still lives in the bakery owned by the Mellark's.

I knock on the door and here some shuffling around inside before the door opens to reveal a very tired and from the looks worn out Peeta , which has to be from his mother and her outburst. At that moment I notice a spot on Peeta's right arm that wasknot their earlier today and I know it was caused by his mother along with another mark on his temple that looks fresher than the mark on his arm, so ths must be why Peeta had not come over yet, because he was trying to cover up what his mother did to him but apparently I must have ruined that plan.

I'm enraged that his mother treats him like he means nothing to him or to anybody else , I mean everybody knows she is a witch but this just proves she is truly worse than a witch by far.

Peeta must have read my face because he is already making an excuse that would have been accepted if I had not known the history he had with his mother in the past.

"Peeta what did she do to you?"I say almost in tears because I wasn't there to help 's face softens as he see's how much I must mean to him .

" Nothing to serious or that I can't take , look Katniss just don't worry about it I'll be fine , can you do that ? "

I nod my head yes and run straight to him and throw my arms around him with so much force that it knocks us both over and onto the living room carpeted looks at me in shock that I'm so happy to seem him after only a few hours apart, but his face is replaced with a pure happy smile that only Peeta has and I have to smile back at him because I am so happy that he is still alive and that he wants to be around someone like me when he could hang out with any girl or for that matter have any girl he wants but he wants me , and somehow I fall more in love with him.

We both get up and out of the blue I'm sweeped off of my feet and being held upside down by Peeta's strong , steady arms, and quickly reaching my destination of Peeta's bedroom which I have never been in before but I'm sure I will be in here more often.

Currently Peeta is basically walking in slow motion and we are both laughing like normal teenagers who are in love . I'm quickly reversed into the right position and am facing Peeta. Our faces are so close that I can feel his warm breath heating up my cool skin like a rapid wildfire .

Peeta's eyes flicker down to my lips while my eyes do the same as his and before my mind even has time to reject I'm closing the gap in between our lips in mere seconds. It's almost like being in the games againd but this kiss is 500 degrees better and it is a real kiss for just Peeta and me to know about and enjoy .

His lips are warm and soft as they move against mine and I feel dizzy by what this boy does to me, who knew Peeta Mellark my district partner and my fellow champion of the 74th Hunger Games would be my weakness ?

After the kiss I rest the top of my hair against Peeta's as I regain the breath that he took away .When I come back to gravity I realize that during the kiss my legs and my arms had snaked there way around his waist and neck, while Peeta's hands were supporting me .

Peeta effortlessly carried me over to the bed , pulled back the sheets and gingerly set me down on the soft , warm bed that smelled good just like Peeta. I quickly fell back onto the soft bed and looked around the 's room is exactly like mine except his room color is very dark blue and his furniture is made of cherry-wood. As soon as Peetagait into bed I slid over toward him and cuddled up to him by hiding my head inthe crook of his neck as his arms found their way around me enveloping me in security that has been long goneSartre my father died.

Soon after getting comfortable I bid Peeta good night and shut my eyes tight knowing that tonight when the nightmares come I will have Peeta to comfort and console me.


	3. Love

Hi everyone just wanted to give a big thanks to all of my followers , favorites on this story , reviewers, and all of the people who have been reading this story. I do not own the Hunger Games Suzanne Collins does , but hey a girl can dream , right ?

Okay until I get 10 reviews I will not be posting the next chapter so , review,review, and review .Thanks again to all my supporters and without further ado I bring you chapter 3 !

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Dark clouds fall across the sky as the wind ripples through the beautiful artwork of the delicate clouds of district 12. But all is shattered when the woods come to life with the Captol pests , muttations I recall.

In the middle of the pack of mutts and me stands all the people I care about the most ,Prim , Peeta, my mom, Gale, Cinna, and even though it may seem weird I might as well throw in Haymitch because he may as well be the dad I have been missing .

Slowly I start making my way to the center where everyone I know is contained , but that was not slow enough because as soon as I am within 10 meters of reaching the group the mutts are in a full fury of fur and rage.

Someone starts screaming when the first person to go is torn to the shell of the person they once were. It took a while to locate where the screams had come from before I started to choke on a really bad tasting bug and I realized I had been the person screaming their insides out until all air seamed to be knocked from their lungs.

Only one person stands rather than me and of course it is Peeta the one I love more than anything.I might not admit it to myself but I love him more than I ever thought or had known to have been mutts almost climatically start for Peeta and fini_**sh a boy who is unrecognizable by the time it's over. As fast as they came is as fast as**__ the_y are gone.

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I wake with a rush unlike anything I have ever felt before , which is saying something for soOenone who has nightmares almost every 's warm arms wrapped around me are not enough comfort for me to ensure that he is alive and a flash I have flipped my position a sitting position bringing Peeta up with me so that I can have a better look at him.

Peeta somehow remains calm until start touching his chest and looking for the non-existing marks the mutts had given that I look at his neck which was the worst as far as damage goes in my dreams, but I find nothing but ... Well , his neck.

Lastly my eyes make contact with his face and his enchanting blue eyes that are to perfect to explain. I touch his cheek with my left hand and can feel the electricity he gives off running through my blood stream and into my hand drifts across his face in gleeful strokes until I reach his lips.

As if asking permission I meet his eyes that tell me everything and give me the courage to give him a kiss that is more feverish than any of the kisses we had shared before. For some reason this kiss tells me , it's time to tell him. It's now or never.

"Peeta, I love you".

Peeta freezes taking in what I had just proclaimed to him, that I really loved him and I even admitted it without a camera in sight.

"You said you love me, Real or Not Real?"

"absolutely , without a doubt in my mind , Real".

A smile unlike any smile I have seen on him is spread across Peeta's face, a smile that makes my stomach tingle with the pride that I was the cause of this smile that is as radiant as the itself.

Peeta swoops me off of the bed and is spinning me in circles like the happiest person on the we stop spinning Peeta brings me in for the best kiss I've ever experienced , one that is so warm and loving that I swear he can feel my heart beating and bursting with the glee of giddiness. After the kiss I rest my forehead against Peeta's so that I can cleanse my lungs with the air that it had run out of. I gently pull my head away from Peeta's so that I can see his face.

I feal Peeta lift his hand up to my cheek just in time to catch the single tear that had managed to have shed from it's reserve.I never thought I would be the one crying when I told Peeta I love him , if anything I expected it the other way around, but here I am showing Peeta how much I care about him by giving him access to seeing me is everything that I will ever need and he always has , I was just to selfish to see it , but now that I have I want him to know that he means more than life to me ,almost more than Prim, Prim is my whole world the reason I breathe, but now it is the same with Peeta and it scares me that I could love someone so much I would not be able to live without them.

Without even thinking of how to react I'm crushing Peeta in a bone crushing hug as if I'm afraid he will disappear into thin air or that maybe he doesn't love me anymore and he loves some pretty and nicer girl than just an ugly and plain girl such as myself.

I know Peeta must have felt me tense up and that he knows what I was thinking about because now he is looking into straight into my eyes to confirm what thoughts thinking.

"Katniss you are the most beautiful , yet selfless person I have ever met . It's always been you Katniss and it will always be you as long as you will allow me the honor of being yours?"

His speech ends in more of a question than anything , but it somehow got me to cry again I realize as Peeta wipes away the tears that fell from my eyes telling me that he knows how much he means to me.

"Peeta I love you more than anyone on the planet and I will always be yours until the day my heart stops , just thought you should know how much you mean to me ".

Tears stream down Peeta's face mirroring what I suppose I must look like but right now all I care about is Peeta and me making up for the issues we caused on the train ride home, which reminds me ...

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Clifhanger !, don't hate just review !

- Jillian


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